By Andrew M. Mwenda He was trying to avoid one death when he fell into another Maj. Gen. James Bunanukye Kazini spent most of Monday evening November 9 out with his girlfriend, Lydia Draru a.k.a. Lydia Atim Draru. At about 5am, the former Uganda People’s Defence Forces army commander dropped …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Last week, I was in Lagos, Nigeria and witnessed the tragedy of African politics. Nigeria is home of anything between 140m to 160m people. It has some of the most educated, intelligent, innovative and hard working Africans. However, its politics promotes leaders who are venal, greedy …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati & Joshua Masinde Some receptionists earn higher salary than govt doctors When Shs 900 million was stolen from under the bed of now interdicted National Forestry Authority (NFA) executive director Damian Akankwasa, the question was how he could have earned such big money when he is …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Member of Parliament for Ndorwa East David Bahati wants homosexuals imprisoned for life or hanged. I am deeply conscious of the fact that the vast majority of Ugandans support him. But debate on homosexuality is being conducted largely out of ignorance and prejudice. For example, a …

By Independent Team Shs 500bn spent on army per year but soldiers live in huts, lack toilets, dead bodies kept in patients wards President and commander-in-chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Gen. Yoweri Museveni, has publicly said he cherishes the army and is a strong believer in the …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Over the last 50 years, public debate in Africa has been fixated on democracy or the lack of it as the primary cause of economic failure. Wars and elections have been fought over it; rebellions launched or quashed in its defence and coups have been carried …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati & Matsiko wa Mucoori Contractors paid before signing agreements In January 2008, Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi gave the Auditor General James Muwanga a 30-day deadline to deliver audited accounts of expenditure on the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Kampala in November …

By Andrew M. Mwenda On October 16, 2009, Oxford’s Prof. Paul Collier gave a talk at Serena Hotel in Kampala on the prospects of an oil windfall in Uganda. Unlike in most of his work, this time Collier did not focus on how the international community (read the West) can …

By Odoobo C. Bichachi, Patrick Kagenda & John Njoroge A whopping Shs 900 million in cash under the pillow, in the mattress cover or somewhere in a wardrobe in the master bedroom! Wherever National Forestry Authority (NFA) executive director, Damian Akankwasa, kept his money, the revelation last week that his …

By Andrew M. Mwenda In October 2001, the United States and its NATO allies invaded Afghanistan, overthrew the Taliban, sent Al Qaeda in disarray and established a largely pro-Western government. There was a lot of promise at the time that Afghanistan would become a peaceful, democratic and stable nation within …